Summer League Season is Here!… The Lakers open up summer league this year with a quick run in Sacramento before heading over to Vegas for the spectacle that it continues to grow into.

The Lakers had an early 12-point lead in this one as they changed ends off turnovers for scores. Eventually, some of the rust shook off for both teams and the Kings tied the game up heading into the fourth.

Josh Hart led the Lakers, playing both guard spots and scoring 23 points before being ejected in the final minute for arguing a call. Moe Wagner showed his perimeter skills on offense and an ability to get to the line to also chip in 23. And second-round pick Svi Mykailliuk dropped 15 points, showing his range from three.

The Lakers struggled to get stops down the stretch and fell 98-93.

Hart -- -- He picked up two Ts, the second with a minute left on calls on defensive challenges and the refs sent him packing. First time, he said, he’s been thrown out of a game. Josh takes pride in his D and wasn’t having any of those cheap calls from the summer league refs. Great game prior to that as we had him working on expanding his game a little. They sat him midway through the first, then brought him back to run point. At first, he looked comfortable running the two-man game with Williams to set him up for a couple of scores. Then things got a bit dicey with some turnovers on the dribble. He had 12 points on 4-8 shooting (3-4 from three) at the half. He seemed to settle down a little and get into more of a groove as the game went along. “First quarter was a little rusty,” he said. I don’t think they actually want him running point, but being able to be more of a threat off the dribble is the overall goal. We also run a lot of those quick two-man sequences off ball movement where you will also see more benefit from working on that. The three shot picked up where he left off last season. I want him on the floor next year. We brought back KCP and who knows what we’re doing with Stephenson. But he can defend multiple positions and hit the three -- that fits perfectly well with LeBron. The Stats: He scored 23 points on 7-15 shooting (4-7 from three, 5-5 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 4 assists, 5 turnovers, 1 steal and 3 fouls in 32 minutes. He was a -6. The Action: He missed a wing three off the swing pass. He missed a layup in transition. Lefty bounce pass on the screen-roll to Williams for the dunk. Pocket pass to Williams on the two-man game again for the score. He picked his man from behind to ignite a break. He attacked off the elbow catch, missed the layup, got the offensive board and powered in the And-1 layup, he made the FT. He crossed over and hit the pull-up three straight away. Strip-blocked out of bounds on a layup attempt. He fumbled a dribble twice, then got called for an off-arm foul against the perimeter pressure. He booted a dribble out of bounds going to his left. He hit Moe for the open wing three in semi-transition. He popped out on the wing and drained the wing three. He picked up a tech disagreeing with a defensive challenge that was called for a foul. He got tapped on a layup attempt fighting through contact. He missed a wing three. With 5 seconds left in the half, we pushed it up and found him on the sideline for the three at the buzzer. Second Half: He missed a short one at the front of the rim. Not close on a wing three. He attacked in transition and drew FTs, he made both. He missed a pull-up three off the high screen. He attacked left off the high screen and scored with his right at the rim. He spun in transition and drew FTs, he made both. He missed a baseline pull-up jumper. He cut baseline, took the pass and reversed. He sank a wing three on a kickout. He was stripped on the break.

Wagner -- -- I think his debut went pretty much as expected. The only thing we really didn’t see from him (of the good and bad) was his ability to score in transition. He had 12 points on 2-6 shooting and 5 boards at the half. He wasn’t afraid to launch the three ball and had some success from it. He counters that well with the ability to pump fake and attack off the dribble and change directions with that right to left behind-the-back dribble. He knocked down a couple from midrange, as well. He’s also good at finding the open man. There was a good sequence in the second half where he attacked off the three line, drew the D and hit Svi for the open three. Great job getting to the line. Let’s see how that holds up. Of course, the challenge for him is defensively. I think his lack of strength won’t be exposed terribly at this level where you generally have underdeveloped bodies out there. In the NBA, he’ll definitely have some issues until he works on that strength. But we saw it in this one. In the second half, on three consecutive defensive board sequences, he was on the ground unable to battle strong and stay up. He’s got to hit the weight room hard. Being able to use that strength to get defenders off balance will also help prevent him from getting blocked (had a few of those against Bagley tonight). He’s going to tick some guys off in his career because of the hustle chippiness to his game. He already got on Kings fans’ nerves. “He was quarterbacking our defense,” Simon said, mentioning he struggled with that so far in camp. But is getting up to speed. I think I heard him calling out ice on one defensive sequence, definitely saw him pointing around. Let’s keep an eye on if that picks up as his familiarity does. “I could have made a little more,” he said of his offensive game. I like the aggressiveness. That’s important. No deer in the headlights at all. You can tell that just by the large number of notes I had on him. The Stats: He scored 23 points on 6-18 shooting (2-9 from three, 9-10 from the line) to go with 7 boards (4 offensive), 1 assist, 2 turnovers, 2 steals, 1 block and 5 fouls in 27 minutes. He was a -3. The Action: He missed a wing three. He deflected a pass on the break. He attacked off the three line, changed directions behind the back and was fouled on the jumphook (which was also goaltended, but they didn’t give it to him), he made one FT. He was blocked after fumbling the ball at the three line. He got dunked on trying to go vertical. He up-faked, attacked off the three line and drew FTs, he made both. Nice recovery on the roll to block a shot at the rim. He missed a wing three, no hesitation on the attempt. He reversed on the roll to the hoop after a pumpfake. He swished an open wing three in transition. He drew FTs trying to power up on the baseline, he made both. He gave up a putback on a freethrow miss, getting knocked to the floor. He was stripped on the perimeter. He up-faked, attacked baseline and drew FTs, he made both. Might have forced the backdoor pass (that was with his left, too), turnover as two defenders converged on it. Second Half: He popped out to the FT line and hit the soft jumper. He forced a guard into a turnover on a drive. He poked a post entry pass away. He slipped on a drive and was blocked, but got it back. He missed a deep three on a kickout. He attacked off the three line and missed a layup (got to try to finish that strong). He missed an open sideline three on a pick and pop. He jammed on a setup in the paint. HE was blocked on a putback attempt. He worked the post and was fouled on a reach for FTs, he made both. He was blocked on a jumphook across the lane. No help on Mason’s drive. He missed a three, got it back, up-faked, attacked and kicked to Svi for the three. He swished a corner three on a kickout. He sank a baseline jumper on a busted play after looking to pass off. He missed a long three up against the final buzzer (percentage buster as Stu would say).

Mykhailiuk -- -- First play of the game, he gets the ball on the wing in transition, pulls up and drills the long jumper (had his foot on the three line). Later in the half, he relocated after going up high to keep an offensive board alive, got it back at the wing and quick-fired a three. The speed of that play and how he got into his shot and launched was NBA-ready skill. He had 9 points on 4-5 shooting (1-2 from three) at the half. When he can get a good run at the rim, his hops show well. Love so much about this pick where we got him. You’ve got to have some kind of ability to hang your hat on to stick in this league and that shooting will be the foundation of his game. A lot of other skills around that, on both ends. When you’ve got guys (LBJ/Rondo) that have a lot of gravity off the dribble, you need guys like this around them. He can have a lot of success with barely having any time with the ball in his hands. Simon mentioned he liked both rookies’ confidence and poise out there. The Stats: He scored 15 points on 6-10 shooting (3-6 from three) to go with 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 23 minutes. He was a -9. The Action: He pulled up on the break and knocked down a wing jumper with his foot on the three line on the Lakers first possession. Soft skip pass and it was picked off. He dunked on a leak out. He attacked an overplay and jammed with both hands. He skied to keep an offensive board alive, relocated to the sideline and quickly drained a three off the catch (that was NBA material right there, especially the speed on the release with a man on). Second Half: He missed a three on the break. Travel on a kickout, not putting the ball down first. He missed a baseline drive. He missed a sideline three off the weave. He sank an open three when Moe drew the D and dished. He drained a 30-footer with no hesitation on his next touch (that was deep).

Rathan-Mayes -- -- A little loose with the dribble at times, but seemed to get more comfortable as the game went along. If the Lakers had Caruso running this game, they probably win it. The Stats: Can’t find full box score. The Action: He worked off the high screen and scored the And-1 layup going to his right, he missed the FT. He attacked the paint and scored a layup. He charged in transition. Bad angle and he gave up a layup. He pushed it up with 5 seconds left and hit Hart for the three at the buzzer. Second Half: He fired a pass to King rolling for the dunk. He drew the D and hit Wagner for the dunk.

King -- -- He showed a little range and certainly confidence to take shots from deep. Some nice passing from the high post. Neither King nor Wagner really had any presence defensively at the rim, although King had one of the better plays of the game on a rejection of his man who tried to drive on him. The Stats: Can’t find full box score. The Action: He blocked his man on a drive. He faced up and sank a wing jumper. He missed a deep three off the double drag. He was pulled down from behind by a small on a layup attempt (flagrant-1), he made both FTs. Second Half: He attacked left and missed. He took a dump off and scored over his man. He swiped a post entry pass to ignite a break. He dunked on the screen-roll. He missed a wing three. He hit Hart cutting for the layup. He drew a charge on Giles.

Holland -- -- Nice job getting to the rim for a couple of finishes. He also sank a three. The Stats: Can’t find full box score. The Action: He knocked an inbounds off a King player to get the ball back in the backcourt. He attacked from the wing with the clock low and scored a layup around his man. He curled into the lane and scored a layup to his right. Second Half: He sank a wing three on a kickout. He missed a scoop on a drive.

Williams -- -- I liked some of the two-man game action that he and Hart had early in the game. He was pretty quick off the floor on both ends of the court. Need to do a better job challenging on the perimeter. The Stats: Can’t find full box score. The Action: He jammed off the screen-roll with Hart. He scored another layup off the two-man game with Hart. Second Half: Nice job disrupting a lob, then challenging a subsequent shot in the paint.

Branch -- -- A little OC at times. The Stats:The Action: Might have blocked a big under the hoop. He threw a pass away. He drew FTs getting out on the break off a turnover, he made one. He attacked, changed directions on the spin and drew FTs, he made both. Second Half: He missed a corner three. He traveled, dragging his pivot foot after getting a little OC.

Carrol -- -- Not a good outing. He seemed to force things a bit and couldn’t connect from the perimeter. The Stats: Can’t find full box score. The Action: Stripped in transition for a turnover. He threw down on the breakaway. Second Half: He missed a forced pull-up three. He missed a force drive trying to beat the shotclock. He missed a corner three in transition.

Love Moe - needs some adjustment & development time. Svi gets minutes this season. JHart has been working, took a DLOesque 3, good drives to the rim (needed to convert on a couple more but looked great)_________________Kyle Kuzma

Svi looked to be exactly as advertised on offense, like he could be dropped right into a contending lineup for 8-10 minutes a game, spot up for a few threes, finish occasionally on the break, and run the baseline for the periodic backdoor bucket when the defense loses track of him.

My only concern about Mo is as pertains to volume. He obviously hasn't an iota of shyness about his O, and while you love to see that confidence, he was rather inefficient tonight, and I hope that he won't need all of those attempts to be impactful, because he'll only see a fraction of them come the season. And on D, he figures to be a liability for a while the way he was being routinely toppled by SL comp.

On another note, is it really too much to ask the Lakers to do the Billy Mac/MT in-studio play by play thing? Because despite the fact that they admittedly heaped praise upon Wagner and Hart for most of the night, having to watch the game through the eyes and mouths of Christie and Napear made for a considerably less pleasant experience.

Svi looked to be exactly as advertised on offense, like he could be dropped right into a contending lineup for 8-10 minutes a game, spot up for a few threes, finish occasionally on the break, and run the baseline for the periodic backdoor bucket when the defense loses track of him.

My only concern about Mo is as pertains to volume. He obviously hasn't an iota of shyness about his O, and while you love to see that confidence, he was rather inefficient tonight, and I hope that he won't need all of those attempts to be impactful, because he'll only see a fraction of them come the season. And on D, he figures to be a liability for a while the way he was being routinely toppled by SL comp.

On another note, is it really too much to ask the Lakers to do the Billy Mac/MT in-studio play by play thing? Because despite the fact that they admittedly heaped praise upon Wagner and Hart for most of the night, having to watch the game through the eyes and mouths of Christie and Napear made for a considerably less pleasant experience.

And oh yeah, Fox is starting to scare me a bit.

Fox is good a jet in transition and a good finisher that can apply ball pressure a rich man's Pat Bev with a better drive to the basket but less defense overall...
Reality is those type of PGs generally don't lead contenders.

Mo looked good but definitely has to get stronger. He was getting man-handled at times under the rim. With NBA strength & conditioning, a personal trainer and hard work he could be a very good pick up for the team.

Joined: 17 Sep 2008Posts: 18215Location: In a white room, with black curtains near the station

Posted: Tue Jul 03, 2018 6:03 am Post subject:

Thanks DB! SVI impressed me in particular, and of course Josh Hart was the best player on the floor last night for either team, in spite of some of the calls he was getting from the Sacramento Summer League refs.

I did not enjoy the play calling and camera work, pretty much a Sacramento home town telecast.

Mo - love the attitude and activity, but I think he's going to get eaten alive against NBA talent until he gets stronger. I also suspect that behind the back crossover isn't going to stay in his hands very often in the NBA. He was getting fouled aggressively all night so the poor shooting percentage needs to be taken in context with the number of times he went to the line, but overall 23 points on 18 shots isn't that bad.

SVI - I had no problem picturing him doing what he did against NBA talent. He's going to pull defenders out to try to chase him off the line, and they'd better hurry because he gets his shot off quickly and is deadly accurate. He either scores a bunch while he's on the floor or he opens up lanes for Lebron, Kuz, Ingram, Stepenson or whoever else is on the floor with him.

Hart - I agree DB, I really want to see Hart on the floor this coming season, not riding the pine behind KCP and Lance.

Surprised this game was so close actually, SAC had a lot of the talent that they drafted previous to this season out on the floor...Fox, Jackson, Giles. We stayed close though. It’s going to be a very long year for SAC I think.

Surprised this game was so close actually, SAC had a lot of the talent that they drafted previous to this season out on the floor...Fox, Jackson, Giles. We stayed close though. It’s going to be a very long year for SAC I think.

They literally had their starting lineup for the regular season on the floor. _________________This Signature is now sponsored by Big Baller Brand

Joined: 24 Jun 2005Posts: 27102Location: High above the western sideline

Posted: Tue Jul 03, 2018 8:20 am Post subject:

Thanks DB! I think SVI could be our "surprise" rookie as far as development and playing time this year. We sure can use his spot up shooting ability. Mo looked good as well. He's going to need some time and growth to hold his own with NBA bigs. Loved what I saw from Hart, I sure hope he is a big part of our guard rotation this season.

Thanks DB!_________________"I don’t give a [expletive] what you say. If I go out there and miss game winners, and people say, 'Kobe choked, or Kobe is seven for whatever in pressure situations.' Well, [expletive] you. Because I don’t play for your [expletive] approval."